Drunk
by Inkless Feather
Summary: Trying to shuffle through his memories, he answered, "I wasn't that drunk!" "Oh really," his friend snorted. "You were so wasted, that you flirted, or at least tried to, with Granger, who, for your information, was absolutely sober."
1. Chapter 1

Drunk

He awoke with a headache. How much had he downed last night to be this hung over? Suddenly he heard someone yelling in his room. He plopped his head back down on the mattress and threw his pillow on his head to block out the noise.

"Draco, seriously, get up already!"

So he looked out from under the pillow and saw Blaise with a very annoyed look on his face. "Having a fun hangover?" said Blaise, with a small smirk on his lips. "Do you even remember anything you did last night?" he continued.

Trying to shuffle through his memories, he answered: "I wasn't that drunk!"

"Oh really," his friend snorted. "You were so wasted, that you flirted, or at least tried to, with Granger, who, for your information, was absolutely sober. And she would've almost slapped you into next year if I wouldn't have pulled you away quick enough."

He was absolutely mortified and tried to remember the event but his mind was blank. It seemed that he indeed did not remember anything from the previous night. "Did I actually go near Granger? You're not pranking me right now or anything, right," Draco asked, surprised.

 _The aforementioned Granger on the other had remembered everything, like it was yesterday which it of course was._

"I had my hand ready to slap him when Blaise ran to the scene and dragged him away kicking and screaming. Malfoy was absolutely pissed. I doubt he even remembers what happened," she exclaimed to Ginny while laughing.

The woman next to her asked: "He actually tried to flirt? If he was that drunk it must've been just blabbering, right?"

"Well it sounded something like all those cliché phrases. I didn't understand all of it, but it ended with him inviting me over to his place so we could get to know each other better. And then he winked. HE WINKED," she ended the sentence exasperated. She thought about how he had basically asked her to go with him and let him shag her. He would've deserved that slap. It's a pity that he was saved by his loyal friend. Well Blaise did apologise for Malfoy's behaviour but maybe he just shouldn't get so wasted when the most part of the wizarding world still dislikes him and everyone with the same last name as him.

She heard a knock on her door and looked and Ginny asking: "Harry and Ron can apparate here, can't they? And I haven't invited anyone else…."

She walked to the door and opened it, finding a rather bewildered Malfoy at her door.

"What the hell are you doing here Malfoy?" was her first reaction to him.

"Is that how you treat all of your visitors, Granger?" he seemed to have composed himself a bit and looked at her with a small smirk.

"No, only the Slytherins actually," she responded, still confused as to why the ferret was at her door. "Now tell me how you found out where I live and what do you want from me," she continued. He's face got a bit more serious and he answered: "As to your address I have some connections. And as to my reasoning of being here is that I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. Although I do not actually remember what happened, Blaise told me a short summary of what I did yesterday. That's all I came here for." Turning around to walk away he continued: "Farewell Granger, I hope we don't have to meet in these circumstances again."

 _He saw her at the bar and started walking towards her. Granger, sitting on the bar stool, all alone. "Granger," he said, maybe a bit loud, startling her. She turned to look at him. "What do you want from me Malfoy," she asked, surprised to see him there._

 _He sat next to her and said: "Would you look at that, our first civil conversation! I just saw you sitting here alone and thought I'd offer you some company."_

 _She sipped her drink and looked at him again: "So the rumours are true? You've given up your old beliefs? Otherwise we couldn't have this conversation without insults flying here and there."_

" _Yeah, Granger I've changed after the war too."_

" _Did it sound like I said you haven't?_

He had just been sitting in his study when a fragment of last night came back to him. It seemed that he was a better person when drunk rather than sober.

The next time Draco got drunk was on the 19th of September. He had Blaise there to guard him while he's wasted but eventually he sneaked past him to Grangers' birthday party that was coincidentally happening at the other side of the club he liked to drink at. It seemed that she liked the club too as he'd seen her here more than the two times he'd gotten utterly wasted.

He saw her on the dance floor and approached the woman.

"How'd you manage to get here without your bunch of friends standing in a circle around you," he asked his words a little slurred from the alcohol. Suddenly hearing his voice, she jumped and would've almost fallen on the floor if the drunken Malfoy hadn't caught her.

"So you're falling for me already? I know my voice has an effect on women but I haven't had them jump in my arms before," he smirked, waiting for her reaction. When there wasn't a lightning response like he'd gotten used to with the muggleborn girl, he asked: "Granger, am I wrong when I presume that you are utterly drunk? If not that then I'd guess you're brain dead from the lack of vicious responses thrown at me."

She pulled herself out of his grasp and opened her mouth to answer: "If you must know, then yes, I've had quite a few drinks tonight. But it's my bloody birthday! Am I not allowed to get drunk once in a while? And if I remember correctly, you said you hope this never happens again. You know the you and me meeting in a club, with you being drunken thing." Her speech seemed much more slurred than his but he continued to converse. "Well, if I remember correctly, I was actually talking about me coming to your house in order to apologise for my behaviour."

"Don't be a smartass Malfoy. I'm supposed to be the know-it-all," she said quietly. Turning around to walk back to her friends and as she lifted her leg to step up the stairs, she lost her balance. To say the least, she was luck that the tipsy Malfoy was still standing near, for he caught her once again.

Catching her for the second time this evening, Draco was about to make another joke about it, but stopped, when he saw her eyes closing and passing out. "Well Granger, for all the smartness you have, you sure can't hold your liquor," he mumbled lifting her up bridal style and walking the stairs, she was attempting to climb before him. When he reached the top, he saw all the Golden Girl's friends looking at him shocked. Potter was already charging towards him with a scowl on his face. "What did you do to her?!" Potter and his girlfriend yelled simultaneously, Harry grabbing Hermione from his hands and Ginny pointing his wand at Malfoy.

He calmly looked at them and said: "She passed out. It's not my fault you were too busy to notice where she went or in what state she was in." After digesting what he'd said Ginny lowered her wand and sat back down on the black couch, she was on before. Harry, looking at the Slytherin a bit sheepishly, said: "Well, thanks for bringing her back to us."

Malfoy stepped down the small steps and back to Blaise, who was still occupied with the girl he'd met before. Deciding to give them their space, he strolled out of the club and started walking to the gazebo near the river. When he got to the sanctuary, where he'd ended up in on many drunken saunters, he noticed someone else there.

"Didn't I just drop you off at your friends Granger?"

"Well I have a tendency to run away when I'm drunk," she answered, still looking like she'll drop at any moment. And although she was sitting, Draco got closer, to catch her if she fell again.

"In that case we're quite similar when drunk," he said smirking.

She looked at him, a questioning look on her face, and asked: "What do you mean by that?"

"Well I don't run, but I sneak away. It's usually easier when Blaise has his hands full with a tipsy blonde," he said as he felt a weight on his shoulder. As he looked at her, he saw that her eyes had closed again.

Shaking her, he asked: "Seriously Granger, are you out again?"

And from the lack of response it seemed that yes, she had passed out again. Draco groaned apparating to his apartment and laying her down on his couch. He knew he couldn't apparate in her house of even outside of it. And he wasn't up for a walk right now. Even as the buzz from the alcohol was wearing off, he was walking around seeing to that Hermione was okay.

He was sat in the armchair when she woke up at 3 in the morning. And as if she knew what she was about to ask he said: "You're at my place. You passed out by the river and I had no other option at the moment than bring you here."

"Well I think I can go home now, that I've woken up. Harry and Ginny are probably worried sick," she realized, standing up from the couch.

Looking at Malfoy she added: "Thank you for taking care of me, I guess, although I can handle myself even when passed out."

Having said that, she apparated home, leaving Malfoy sitting in his armchair, mouth open, ready to argue with her statement.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone who somehow managed to find my story. I thought to not leave an author's comment in the first chapter for some reason but here it is now**

 **This is my first story and I hope it's good. Huge thanks to** **Slytherinvillain7** **who is actually the force behind me publishing this story. Definitely go check out Near Wild Heaven, it's a great story with cliff-hangers and everything.**

 **Oh and one more thing, I would absolutely adore if you left reviews. Just point out things you liked or didn't like or maybe if I've made any grammar errors or such things. It just helps me improve as a writer and maybe I can make the story better with your help**

 **Here goes.**

Captain Jack Sparrow has asked: "Why is the rum always gone?" Well, after a pretty thorough meeting with another Captain, for Hermione Granger the question right now was: "Why was there so much rum on the table last night? I specifically asked for a small gathering, but you take me to a club, let me get wasted and allow me to run off?"

She had stepped in the room and instead of dealing with her headache she started lecturing Harry and Ginny, who had most probably fallen asleep on her couch after trying to locate her.

"Well to be honest, you disapparated from the club and we couldn't stop you from doing that. And when we arrived here, we got Malfoy's owl that you're safe at his place sleeping yourself sober," Ginny responded

Harry had been working next to Malfoy in the Auror Department for 4 years now and so Ginny and Harry both trusted him more than in their school days. The trust hadn't rubbed off on Hermione yet as she was in panic mode when she woke up next to Malfoy in the middle of the night.

"That doesn't explain you letting me drink the amounts of alcohol that I seem to have consumed. You were supposed to keep me happy yourself, not with the help of numbing substances," Hermione retorted. Granger walked up to her kitchen cabinet and pulled out a hangover potion from the shelf that was usually reserved for Ron.

Ah, Ron, the man who didn't even have an hour to spend with her girlfriend on her birthday, because he's busy restocking the store. When in reality he was ignoring her and she knew that. She also knew that it might be because of the fact that their relationship was crumbling apart and he couldn't face reality.

Harry stood up and walked to Hermione. "But you did have fun yesterday, didn't you? Even if it wasn't how you planned it to be. But you can't plan everything either," Harry said calmly, when she had downed the potion.

"I know, I know, but please don't let me be carried off by Malfoy again. You might trust him because you two are working together, but I don't have that certain bond with him. So if someone was to carry me out in my drunken state, I would prefer it to be someone I trust."

"Well, I think if you'd stayed with us, we wouldn't have had that problem in the first place." Ginny mumbled from her seat.

After practically shoving Harry and Ginny through the fireplace, she sat down and waited for the numbing effects of the Sober Up to work. She hadn't gotten much sleep after running from Malfoy's. Thinking of it, she hadn't even gotten a good look around, waking up in her half-drunken state, in a strange house, with the Slytherin sitting next to her, looking like he'd been there for a while. The place certainly didn't look like the Manor he was rumoured to still be living in. And she had heard from Harry that he was indeed living there as they'd been paired up on multiple occasions and the man had found out more about him during their time working together.

Sitting there thinking, she vowed to herself to never drink so much that she'd end up anywhere else but her own or the Potter's house.

"You're seriously snoring at 12 again?"

"For your information I got to sleep at about four in the morning, so if my calculations are correct I've been 'snoring' as you like to call it, for only eight hours. Which I might add, is very normal if you can't get sleep during the week." Draco mumbled, sitting up on the armchair he'd stayed in since Granger left.

"Well, pardon me for disrupting your sleep patterns, but I do know that you got wasted last night and from my experiences you sleep too long after those nights." Said Blaise, picking up the coffee cup he'd set on the bedside table and sipping from it. "I thought you might want this to alleviate the headache, but you seem better this morning than any of the others." He mentioned after finishing his sip.

"Well, dealing with a passed out Granger at midnight sobers a man up." He said while walking towards his bathroom.

Blaise, having just taken another sip, almost spit it out as his eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, did I just hear correctly that you were dealing with an unconscious Granger? After leaving the club? How the hell did that happen?"

Draco stopped brushing his teeth, "It seems that Granger is also a runner when drunk. And she can't hold her liquor."

After finishing with his teeth, he added, "I met her by the river and she happened to pass out so instead of leaving her there and hunting down her bundle of buddies I thought it best to bring her to sleep it off here."

"So… First, you're terrified that you flirted with her in your drunken state and now you're having sleepovers." Blaise laughed finishing the cup, meant for his friend.

"If sleepovers can be defined by me laying her on my couch while she's passed out and checking that she doesn't puke anywhere, then sure. She woke up after three hours and ran like the wind so I hardly think you have to worry about us warming up to each other." The man answered with a slight scowl on his lips.

"You know it's strange that you've stumbled upon her twice now and both times it's you walking up to her and starting a conversation. But if you insist that there's no warming up, I won't argue on the topic…" his friend said, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"So in which strip club did you spend your evening this time? Or maybe you found some poor girl on the street to sleep with?"

"I haven't slept with anyone! You haven't let me near you in the recent weeks, have you!" Ron slurred while trying to drink a glass of water.

Hermione, watching him and shaking her head started, "Well, seeing as you have red lipstick all over your neck and cheeks, your pants are missing a belt and unzipped, and you are wasted, I can't help not to jump to conclusions!"

"Well stop jumping then! And stop nagging, I just had a night out, relaxing, maybe I had a bit too much to drink but that doesn't give you an excuse to accuse me of cheating. I'm tired of this conversation, I'm going to sleep."

"Yes, run away from every fight and ignore every conflict. That's how relationships work. But as you are drunk I think it's best if you do go to sleep. Although don't expect me to join you." Hermione mumbled.

She let him leave towards their bedroom, assuming that he didn't hear her. Thinking back to their relationship she started wondering if she should end it. Seeing as they didn't have anything in common except for their friends, they didn't have many things to do in their free time with each other and they had started drifting apart. Of course he tried denying cheating on her, but he wasn't good at hiding the evidence. Hermione was quite sure that Ron's cologne didn't have a sweet flowery scent and that the love bites he had on his neck didn't come from her.

Having already brushed her teeth, she picked up the book and started reading, hoping to fall asleep quickly, so that she wouldn't have to think about her problems. Her plan almost worked until there was a knock at the door. Startled awake from her half-sleeping state she stumbled towards the door in the dark and turned on the small light next to it, so she could see something. She also turned on the light outside so she could see whose behind her door at 2 in the morning. Seeing an olive skinned fairly familiar man through the peephole, she unlocked the door and peeked through a crack. "What on Earth might you want with me at this ungodly hour Blaise?"

The man, seeming quite nervous, opened his mouth and shut it again. "I don't know, actually. I lost Draco and he isn't at home and for some reason I'd thought to come here. It seems that he's good at seeking you out when he's drunk."

"I'm fairly certain that he isn't here. And I also don't think that he seeks me out. The fact that we sometimes meet in an intoxicated state is just a coincidence." she told him sternly.

"Well, it was worth a shot. Although I didn't have very high hopes of finding him here." He said with a slight smile. He turned around and started walking down the stairs towards the street.

Hermione was about to close the door when she remembered, "Hey, I think it's worth a shot checking by the river though. I've seen him there a couple of times, including on my birthday."

"Thanks, I'll go check." He mumbled in response.

"Out of all the places I've looked, I find you there where Hermione Granger suggested me to look." Blaise said as he sat next to his sullen friend. "Come on, let's get you home and cleaned up. I don't think your mother would appreciate if she'd notice you've been in a fight." he continued patting Draco on the shoulder.

"Why did Granger suggest this place? And how did you even get her opinion on my whereabouts?" Draco slurred surprised.

"As I told her, you seem to seek her out when you're drunk, of course she said it was a coincidence, as you always keep repeating. But of course you weren't there so she told me she'd seen you by the river a few times and I thought this might be the place." he answered.

Draco looked back at the river. It was wide and dark, the moonlight reflecting on the bridge and the stone walls bordering it. The dark murkiness of the water reminded him of the lake at Hogwarts and that reminded him of his days in the school, especially the last repeat year.

 _He was sitting on a tree branch near the Great Lake. Although he should have been inside, eating his meal, he still couldn't face everyone. He'd done such dark things that he didn't want to see everyone's faces looking at him as he would enter the Great Hall._

 _His punishment had been very lenient as he was forced to do everything but that didn't help him with his regrets, with his pain, with his nightmares._

 _As he heard a rustle nearby, he surfaced from his deep thoughts, looking right, Malfoy saw Hermione sitting under a tree that was only ten feet from him. She seemed pale in the moonlight and he saw tears glistening in her eyes._

' _I need her forgiveness to forgive myself,' he thought. Not wanting to disturb her he sat on the tree branch as quietly as possible until Potter and Weasley came to drag her inside. He saw her quickly wiping her tears as she heard the steps and jump up when they called her name._

 _He was happy that he wasn't the only one struggling, but seeing her in tears broke something in him. Just like it had broken something in him seeing her on the floor of the Manor writhing in pain under his aunt's torture._

 _ **I OWN NOTHING BUT THE IDEA OF THIS STORYLINE FOR J. K. ROWLING'S CHARACTERS!**_


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